


Cor in Manu

by knightsirbedivere



Series: Hartwin Week [5]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Fake Marriage, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Requited Love, Sharing a Bed, Undercover, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:30:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4623723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightsirbedivere/pseuds/knightsirbedivere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy hates couples, he hates couples who are rich and could be doing better things with their money, and he hates that he has to blend in with them for a month with Harry. Harry-fucking-Hart who did nothing short of breaking his heart.</p><p>Pride is a toxic vice and Harry Hart is too proud, too proud to even apologize to the one he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cor in Manu

Undercover missions are not Harry’s strong suit, they never have been. This mission is training just as much for Harry as it is for Eggsy. Eggsy is however looking forward to it as soon as Merlin says the word “undercover.” The worst part of the whole thing is that Harry’s and Eggsy’s relationship had been strained since Harry returned from America. Eggsy wasn’t good at hiding his feelings from Harry, so he didn’t, and they weren’t friendly.

“What? With Harry? What’s he gonna be, my boss?” Eggsy’s playfulness lightens Harry’s mood briefly before Merlin shakes his head.

“No, Harry is your newlywed husband.” He says it softly, understanding how quickly the situation can turn from lighthearted to tense. It does just that as Eggsy shoves his chair away from the table and stands, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Is this some kinda fuckin’ game? Huh? Whose idea was this, playing fuckin’ pranks on me, you’re grown. Can’t you get your kicks out of golf or something?” Eggsy tries to leave but Merlin isn’t finished.

“You think I would draw up a fake mission, make a file, and drag another agent in to humiliate you? Eggsy we both know I can do so much better. No, this is a very real mission and it is of utmost importance that you get along." Merlin pointedly stares at Harry, despite Eggsy being the childish one in the current situation. 

"What if I don't do the mission? Can't Alastair go with him instead of me?" Harry hates that Eggsy is pleading to be left off the mission because of his own inability to forgive. If he had been able to tell Eggsy that he was fine and that he'd be back as soon as he could maybe Eggsy wouldn't have been so angry. When he became Arthur, Eggsy put his letter of resignation on Harry's desk the very next day. He was told that Eggsy and Roxy had a screaming match that ended in tears and Eggsy had come in half a week later to ask for his letter back, Harry gave it to him without a word and Eggsy trashed it. They still spoke professionally, occasionally in a friendly but short lived manner that left a hole in Harry's chest every time. 

"Alastair is on holiday." Harry's voice is small and he's trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Merlin holds his and out in Harry's direction and Eggsy's mouth clicks shut, he uncrosses his arms and seats himself calmly. 

"I'll do the mission, but I'm not gonna like it." he picks up the file and looks at the necessary information.

"You don't have to like it, we don't give missions to you because you'll like them, you just have to do it." The rest of the brief goes as smoothly as possible and Eggsy even graciously accepts the gold ring that he'll have to wear without so much as a scoff. When Harry dismisses him and Eggsy shuts the door behind himself Harry lets out a sigh of relief and Merlin rubs his forehead with the back of his hand. 

"When are you going to apologize to him Harry?" the question comes from someone who is tired of being caught in the crossfire. Harry shrugs and pores over the file, familiarizes Eggsy's code-name in his mouth and ignores the dread curling in his stomach.

* * *

Two weeks pass and it's time for the mission, Harry and Eggsy have spent the past week together discussing preferences and setting down rules. It took some struggling and an argument with Merlin over the singular bed only to be shot down with a look. Harry notices that Eggsy had been wearing the ring and had taken to fidgeting with it when nervous and stressed. 

"Wot?" Eggsy holds up his hand in front of Harry's face, thinking he spaced out.

"You've been wearing it? The ring I mean." 

"Yeah, I have to get used to it, besides it ought to leave some kinda mark, our aliases have been married for a hot minute we're not even newlyweds." Harry flinches at the choice of words and Eggsy doesn't see it or thought they wouldn't affect him. Eggsy pulls the ring off just enough to show Harry the slight indentation in his finger that the gold band left. 

"Fair enough, poor planning on my part, you have always been clever enough to think of such things first." Eggsy drops his hand and moves away from the table, his expression blank.

"Stop, Harry, this is work." His brows furrow together and he looks like he wants to say more but he pushes it down. Harry isn't sure when Eggsy started censoring himself or not sharing the entirety of what was on his mind, Harry hated this worse than when Eggsy would hurl insults at him just for walking by. 

"I suppose we'll have lunch on the plane? Merlin, is everything ready?" Harry nods at Eggsy who is still very far away with a cold expression. Harry takes their tea back inside and is a little distracted by Eggsy shuffling their notes and papers together. A wave of guilt washes over Harry as he looks at the calm concentration on Eggsy's face, the slight dimple above his left brow, lower lip just barely jutted out, Harry never gets to see that and it's his fault. He's sure Eggsy doesn't mean to give him a spark of hope but he does when he jogs up and he's wearing a soft and expectant smile. 

"Ready?" His hair is wind-tousled and eyes bright, Harry smiles back and nods. The plane ride goes smoothly, Eggsy naps and Harry shortly follows after doing a touch of paperwork beforehand. Turbulence had woken Harry a bit ago and he finished up what paperwork he could then tried to distract himself from Eggsy, who was comfortable curled up in the seat beside him. It took a lot to distract himself from Eggsy, Eggsy whose face was smooth and his breathing deep and even, he read half of a Jane Austen novel and checked up on every possible social media site he could. A breathy mumble and twitch would catch Harry's attention and he wondered if this was normal, and if so Harry was grateful, he'd get to spend a month with Eggsy who twitched and mumbled in his sleep. Of course the moment Harry is staring longingly at his employee and co-worker is the moment that employee wakes up. 

"We there yet?" Eggsy mumbles and halfway pulls the blanket over his head, Harry hopes he didn't see him staring. 

"Touch down is in about fifteen, perfect timing actually." He reaches for the Jane Austen novel and returns to the life of Elizabeth Bennet just to busy himself and legitimately ignore Eggsy. Eggsy tears his eyes away from Harry, his throat tight and he's worried he's going to cry in front of Harry so he stands and goes to the bathroom. Not calling Roxy would be terrible at this point so he texts her and thanks the powers that be for her quick reply.

E: _Rox, plane's about to land and I don't think I can do this, I don't want to be stuck with him for this long, he probably h8s me._

R: _He doesn't h8 u Eggsy, ur gonna do just fine and you can always text me if it doesn't work out, OK?_

E: _Awryt, I'll take ur word for it, gotta go. Love ya, xx._

He scrubs the stray tear that slipped down his cheek away and rinses his face as the plane lands, a few moments later there's a soft knock at the door and Eggsy rolls his eyes. He opens the door and Harry is pulling their bags out of the overhead storage, he makes a point not to look at the stretch of fabric over his arms. They get off the plane and into the taxi which catapults them into a discussion about their aliases.

"Why the 'Ashleys' how would you even say that to refer to both of us?" Eggsy thinks referring to them as a pair is ridiculous and unnecessary.

"You would put an apostrophe at the end of 'Ashleys' or just say 'The Ashleys,' which is a little pretentious if I may say so myself." Eggsy grins and crosses his arms.

"Pretentious huh? Mister David Ashleys? You think you could be pretentious?" Harry's mouth twitches up and he bends back down over the files when Eggsy touches his knee lightly. "S'okay, I know we gotta do this for the mission, don't hide, it's not gonna look natural." The taxi stops at the resort and they pay the fee. It's all smiles when they greet the desk attendant and she directs them to their room which is the honeymoon suite on the second floor, Merlin lets them know that there isn't time to rest and they have an arrangement in the dining hall. Eggsy hates couples, he hates couples who are rich and could be doing better things with their money, and he hates that he has to blend in with them for a month with Harry. Fingers at his temple bring him back to the crowd of people he and Harry are in and he leans into the touch as Harry moves his hair out of his face. A gentle guiding hand at the small of his back and Merlin's voice in his ear lead him to the target who had definitely been making his way to Eggsy upon first sight. The tall Spanish man with bright eyes and graceful movements weaved his way through to meet Harry and Eggsy, he kept his eyes on Eggsy as he spoke to Harry and it was unnerving. 

"Are you here for the business training?" The man who had addressed himself as Jean Acosta asked of them, "Surely you cannot be a couple?"

Eggsy smiled sweetly and held up his hand and twisted the gold band on his finger with his thumb, "Yeah, a couple." Harry swells with something like pride at how bitter Eggsy sounds. 

"I am sorry, honest mistake," Jean doesn't sound rueful for the assumption, "Please help yourselves to anything, I am the owner of this resort and I wish for you both to have a wonderful stay." He leaves with a lingering touch to Eggsy's arm and a half-hearted smile to Harry. 

"Fuck me, he's a little,"

"Overwhelming?" Harry provides.

"Fuckin' creepy yeah." Eggsy shudders for effect. Merlin encourages them to meet and greet as many other couples as they can, Harry drains quickly and Eggsy has to refrain from resorting to violence over comments about his "father, uncle, _granddad_ ," really his granddad? When Merlin is satisfied with their performances they drag their feet all the way back to their room and sigh with relief when the door clicks shut. 

"Which side of the bed do you want?" Eggsy has a mind to ask before he flops down on it.

"You can have the side you're on, I don't mind," Harry shuffles about and gestures to the window, "I'd rather face the sunrise anyway." 

"You gonna shower?" 

"I had intended to yes, would you prefer to take one first?" Harry unties his shoe-laces and sets them under the back of the bed. Eggsy flails his hand weakly and mumbles. "Run that by me again Eggsy."

"Nah jus' wake me up when you're done n' I'll shower afterwards. N' we still gotta get dinner, din't eat on the plane." He slurs and Harry wonders how Eggsy can be sleepy at all if he slept the entire plane ride. By the time he gathers his clothes and bath products to take to the bathroom Eggsy is snoring softly with one hand on his stomach and the other above his head. Harry takes a quick shower and keeps the fact that they didn't eat lunch on his mind, hoping that the target will once again approach them with a more genuine apology. 

"Eggsy, wake up. The restroom is all yours now." He shakes Eggsy awake gently, who starts and jerks away from his touch. Watching him shuffle into the bathroom Harry shuts down when the door closes, sitting on the bed and hunching over like he can keep the ache contained. He's combed his hair into place and applied what make-up he uses to the scar at his temple when Eggsy steps out of the bathroom fully dressed sans socks and shoes. The lack of product in his hair would normally warrant a reprimand but it is undercover and Harry finds the soft unkempt curls charming. After asking Merlin where they need to go they psych up and put the couple front on as soon as they step out the door. A forehead on his shoulder as he locks the door makes Harry smile and Eggsy just rubs his face on his arm and complains about how sleepy he is and that they have plenty of time to greet everyone tomorrow. 

"Yes Caleb of course, plenty of time but we haven't eaten since breakfast." he chuckles and takes Eggsy's hand in his to lead him to the dining hall once again. After getting food and finding a seat they eat peacefully, Eggsy notices one woman pointing at them to her husband so he raises his left hand and waves at her, Harry alerts Eggsy to their target making his way toward them. The slide of fingers down his arm is warning enough for Eggsy and Jean seats himself at the table with them despite not being asked, Merlin tells them to play up the couple factor as much as possible to see if the target's interest would waver. Naturally Eggsy takes Harry's hand in his across the table and ignores Jean as he stuffs pasta into his mouth.

"You are here on your honeymoon? How long have you been married, not long no?" Jean looks at their hands connected and he directs the question to Harry. His eyes are sharp and they flicker to the movement of Harry's thumb rubbing Eggsy's hand. 

"Yes we finally got to take holiday from work, it's only been about a month? Right Caleb, a month?" Harry understands that the youthful partner of the murder victims were the ones who pulled Jean to them, keeping his attention on Eggsy isn't hard it's just a matter of directing that attention for long enough to bug him. 

"David," a slightly hurt look from Eggsy, "You ought to know, you were there too." the reprimand is gentle and Eggsy feigns betrayal, it wins Jean over and Harry pinpoints it with a sharp quick inhale as Eggsy tilts his head down and pouts. The bug is in place and Merlin lets Eggsy know as soon as Harry places it.

"I know dear, I'm only joking." he reaches over and rests his palm on Eggsy's face, smoothing his thumb over the apple of his cheek. Jean watches entranced as Eggsy places a soft kiss to the meat of Harry's hand. Jean stands and Harry almost breathes a sigh of relief that he bugged him when he did, if they hadn't done it then they'd have a short window to do it later.

"Please do not worry about drinks for the rest of your stay, I regret my earlier offense. David, Caleb, I hope you enjoy your meal, do not hesitate to ask for me directly if you need something." They bid him thanks and wave goodbye to him and Eggsy does breathe a sigh of relief once he's out of sight. 

"Well that's the dog's bollocks, anytime you piss me off I ain't gotta worry about spending good on the Kingsman budget." Eggsy mumbles as he reaches over and brushes stray hairs out of Harry's eyes. 

"Oh Caleb aren't you so damnably charming." he says it bitterly before taking a bite of his food which, considering Eggsy's comment, would go great with some wine. So he flags down a waiter and orders a very large bottle of a dry white Pinot. Taking their time eating but certainly not drinking gets them, or at least Eggsy, tipsy and well buzzed. Eggsy's leaning on Harry and slurring half-hearted insults at him as they stumble walk back to their room, Harry fills a glass with water and forces Eggsy to drink it before shoving him into the bed. He walks out to the balcony and stares out at the water, reaching into his pockets he fishes for the pack of cigarettes he'd bought before leaving London, once he finds them he lights one and enjoys a wind down. There's a sniffle from inside the room and Harry's sure he wasn't supposed to hear it so he ignores it and he ignores the ache in his chest. After getting the all clear message from Merlin he puts out the cigarette and steps inside, he can tell that Eggsy isn't asleep but he's still as quiet as he can be as he dresses for bed and slips under the blankets beside him. Another soft sniffle shakes the sleep off of Harry and he searches for contact beneath the blanket, finding Eggsy's side isn't difficult and once he does he shuffles forward and pulls him closer, surprisingly without protest from Eggsy. Harry sleeps fine except for waking up once around two with Eggsy turned to face him and nearly buried his face in Harry's chest, so when he wakes up and feels the warm, but empty side of the bed he feels guilty. Guilty because he gave in to his feelings to comfort Eggsy and because it was him who upset Eggsy enough to the point of tears, the barrier between them isn't lessened by one night and he knows it's his fault. Ducking out to smoke another cigarette Harry effectively avoids a conversation with Eggsy, he's not going to bring up what doesn't need to be brought up, he asks Merlin for information if there is any and Eggsy steps out onto the balcony with him. He bids Harry a quiet good morning and Harry sees Eggsy's pupils dilate as he takes a drag of the cigarette, which he thinks is funny since Eggsy has previously expressed a distaste for smoking but then he thinks maybe it depends on who's smoking. Eggsy leaves and Harry's alone to get ready for the day and the cold quiet of their room is unwelcome, he showers and dresses and goes to join Eggsy who is no doubt where the food is. They eat breakfast together as Merlin fills them in on the day's priorities, Eggsy doesn't miss a beat when people look at them suspiciously and treats Harry with a warm kindness, and that in itself hurts Harry worse than the insults and anger. 

"So just...make friends? Relax? Merlin this isn't an actual holiday." Eggsy mumbles into his coffee before taking a drink. 

"No, do not use your Unwin charm and get _everyone's_ attention, you need to keep a small radius otherwise Mr. Acosta won't want to keep you as his target. One or two people ought to be fine, so yes relax but keep your feet on the ground. As for you Harry, take liberties, make yourself a weak target. I'll let you both know when I get an accomplice, for now enjoy your honeymoon." He clicks off communications before Eggsy can retaliate and so he opts for fuming silently over his food. Breakfast is good and they're not interrupted anymore and it could be nice if it were an actual holiday, but it isn't and Harry and Eggsy aren't together and the thought sours Harry's appetite. Standing and excusing himself Harry is ready to go up and do paperwork when Eggsy catches his wrist in a soft grip. 

"Uh David, I'm going down to the beach to scope out for a good spot, wanna come with?" His voice is soft, understanding Harry's mood, but there's a hint of a promise. Harry nods and Eggsy smiles up at him and Harry feels Eggsy pulling his arm down, only realizing what's happening when Eggsy's lips are on his. He toddles back up to their room in a haze, frequently touching his lips, and wonders what the purpose of the kiss was. He's out on the balcony again when Eggsy comes up and Harry means to confront him but feels the accusation fall flat when Eggsy slips his t-shirt over his head, his tongue feels like cotton in his mouth. 

"Come on then, the beach?" Eggsy grabs his swim trunks from the dresser and goes to the bathroom to change. Harry grabs towels and two books, feeling too much like the target he's supposed to portray. They go down to the beach and Eggsy has a mind to stretch before venturing out and Harry makes notes of the other couples there at the beach with them, there are none but him and Eggsy who fit Jean's criteria and that's a positive thing. Harry finishes the book he started on the plane and is mostly finished with another fiction when he looks up to see Eggsy talking to a young woman, there's a bright smile on his face and he points over to Harry. The young pair walk up to Harry and he sets the book down, Eggsy greets him with a soft kiss not unlike the first one and then he gets to introductions. 

"This is my husband David, David this is Etta she's here on holiday as well, she saved me when I kinda slipped up a bit." the whole situation has Harry chuffed and he is a little dazed but when she says something to Eggsy, Harry can tell she's a local. That or she's feigning a very good Australian accent but Harry's convinced when the slang slips off her tongue a little too quickly.

Short verbal reports go to Merlin at the end of the day each day and Eggsy boasts that his NLP training is coming in handy against Harry who is doing significantly worse and Merlin agrees. Two weeks go by perfectly, Eggsy even accidentally seduced their target when he got too tipsy one night, Harry had apologized to Jean and silently thanked Eggsy for his wild youthful tendencies. Harry and Eggsy even get along, there's less of the tense air between them as they go about their days. Eggsy's friendship with Etta flourishes and Harry enjoys hearing Eggsy talk about the things they've done throughout the resort. Jean doesn't stop stalking Eggsy, he even appears at his side more often and Eggsy graces him with brief conversations, it irritates Harry but he plays the naive old man so well Jean ignores him. There isn't any trouble until Eggsy doesn't come back up to the room for a very long time, Harry asks Merlin where he is and Merlin tells him where and that he needs to get to Eggsy as quickly as possible. Somehow Eggsy had gotten drugged and was fighting against his attackers, who happened to be Jean and a young man who looked suspiciously like one of Eggsy's fellow recruits. As soon as he sees Harry, Jean stops attacking Eggsy and goes to fight his accomplice which Merlin assures as soon as he hears his voice, Jean pulls the drug out of his pocket and claims it as his accomplice's, Harry knows what it is and isn't interested in Jean as he wraps one arm around Eggsy's back and picks him up, cradling him against his chest. The wet warmth on his chest confirms that Eggsy is crying and he hears Merlin reprimanding him for not keeping up the "old man" appearance, he doesn't care he just wants Eggsy safe. Eggsy has a hand curled around his own stomach and the other at the back of Harry's head, his fingers tugging at the hair and he moves his face to Harry's neck instead of his shoulder, the smear of tears makes Harry's heart ache again. Setting him down in front of the door to their room Eggsy grasps Harry's shirt-sleeve and he rubs at his face, Harry thinks it makes him look awfully childish but he understands the alcohol and drugs in his system is affecting his behavior.

"Eggsy what happened?" he paces after locking the door and making sure Eggsy doesn't lose balance. Eggsy stares up at him and picks at his fingernails.

"I dunno, that other guy came up and bought me a drink, didn't think he'd drug me, you think that was their move?" Eggsy manages but Harry can tell he's reeling and his focus is off. 

"It doesn't matter now, you could've gotten hurt. No one would've known you were gone, I had to ask Merlin where you were." he tries to sound angry, he tries to put a barrier between what he wants to say and his feelings and it shows when Eggsy slumps. 

"Please don't be mad at me Harry, I didn't expect anything to happen, honest." his voice is thin and Harry thinks there are tears but Eggsy just slips his shoes off and slides under the blanket, ignoring Harry. Harry wakes up the next morning to the sound of vomiting and it's less than pleasant, especially when he goes to ask Eggsy if he needs anything and his eyes are bruised with lack of sleep. 

"Are you alright Eggsy? How long have you been in here?" Harry gets a glass and fills it with water, Eggsy sips it gingerly and looks up at Harry with an exhausted expression.

"Been at it for a bit, s'nothin' I haven't dealt with before, probably whatever drug they gave me last night."

"That and the alcohol no doubt," Eggsy glares at him, "I can find Etta and tell her we're taking a day in, I'm sure Jean will try to come and explain." 

"Well I'm gonna fuckin' ignore him, you can do paperwork, I'm goin' back to bed yeah?" He stands shakily and he lets Harry help him wash up and get him into actual pajamas which he's grateful for, he's in bed and asleep by the time Harry goes to find Eggsy's friend. She wishes for Eggsy to get better and gives Harry tips for helping with the sore throat afterwards, an elderly woman passes him on his way back and tells him that he and Eggsy are very cute together and that he's a sweet boy, he readily agrees without thinking. Harry manages to get completely caught up with paperwork and he rewards himself by finishing yet another book when Eggsy shuffles awake at nearly five in the evening asking for water. Harry fetches a glass and a cold wet towel for Eggsy to put over his throat, he lays in bed still with the comforter pulled up around his ears and doesn't do anything when Harry lays beside him to have a face-to-face conversation. 

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, thank you for the towel it's helping, what time is it?" he whispers, his eyes don't look so bruised anymore and Harry's glad.

"It's almost five, and it was Etta's advice about the towel she said it would help with the soreness." Harry wishes that he could've avoided Eggsy being hurt or sick altogether. Eggsy nods and it shifts hair into his face which Harry moves so Eggsy doesn't have to move, if he lets his hand linger for too long then Eggsy doesn't say anything. 

"Are we gonna go get dinner?" he asks and brings his hand up to rub at his eyes. 

"You're hungry? Anything you would like? I can have it brought up if you don't want to get out of bed." Eggsy nods again and Harry smooths his hair back. 

"Dunno, get me whatever looks good I guess." There's a soft knock at the door and Harry rises to answer it, he knows it's Jean even before he looks through the peephole, in hindsight he should've put the "do not disturb" sign on the knob, but he answers it and steps outside. He locks the door and feels slightly annoyed that the man tried to look into their room. Harry allows Jean to walk to the hall and keeps his mouth shut unless prompted. 

"How is Caleb doing, I missed him at lunch-time." Jean walks with his hands behind his back and Harry has to hold back a snide comment about posturing, despite the praise that would come from Merlin.

"My _husband_ is doing fine, we're having our evening in. Did you figure out the name of his attacker? I would have stayed but I had to make sure Caleb was going to be okay," he keeps walking and turns when Jean stops before they get to the hall, "Mr. Acosta? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, although I have to apologize Mr. Ashleys, I'm afraid the attacker got away when I took the drug from him." Harry sees the feigned remorse in his eyes but his mouth betrays him by curling.

"Oh how unfortunate, thankfully Caleb wasn't seriously injured I'm glad we'll be able to continue our vacation. Excuse me I ought to be getting our dinner now, he's a bit peckish." Harry says his goodbye and gets Eggsy some of the Chinese food, which does look very good but he sticks to carbs and makes his way back to the room. Merlin lets him know that the bug picked up Jean saying something about making his move within the week and Harry is only too grateful to see this mission come to an end. They sit on the bed facing each other and eat, it's a bit domestic for Harry's tastes but it's no different from going out he supposes. 

"Listen, all I wanna know if how this guy gets off on killin' all these couples, what does he gain from it? I mean look at us, two fit blokes and as far as he knows only one of us has a job, and a boring job at that." Harry focused on the fact that Eggsy said _he was fit_ as well and chooses to answer the question instead. 

"None of the other young partners had jobs either, maybe it is just senseless pleasure killings, we won't know until we take him down. Which reminds me, we need to draw up a plan of attack." Eggsy groans, knowing that their greatest option involved more alcohol, or at least acting drunk. 

"'Attack,' he says, more like capture and rescue. I'm not some damsel, I'm an agent Harry." he flaps his hand in a manner not of an agent but more like a damsel. 

"An agent who shouldn't mind being used as bait." Harry points out and Eggsy opts for shoving food into his mouth over arguing. The evening progresses with little bits of conversation until it's time for bed and Eggsy understandably has some trouble falling asleep. 

"Hey Harry?" the words come out shaky but softly and Harry wonders if he should ignore them, he turns to face Eggsy instead. 

"Yes Eggsy?" he sighs, not really sure what the boy is keeping him awake for. 

"I want you to know that I been thinkin' a lot lately," he takes a deep breath, "And I want you to know that I forgive you, you're not gonna say sorry but I forgive you for what you did, er didn't do. I'm sorry for the way I acted but I was really hurt, I still am. Anyways, goodnight, sleep well." Eggsy turns and curls in on himself, hoping Harry will leave him alone. The silence helps Eggsy fall asleep but Harry is tense and wide awake and he _needs to move_ , he slides out of bed and opens the balcony door a cigarette in his hand already and he lights it, his hand shakes as he brings it to his lips and he thinks nothing of it. The image of Merlin and Eggsy screaming at each other floods his mind, he hears the pain in Eggsy's voice and it makes his skin crawl. 

_"Why didn't you tell me?! Because I wouldn't be able to focus on my missions? That's bullshit and you know it, I'm plenty capable but you and Harry are wrong. You coulda fuckin' told me."_

_"Yes lad, I would've told you but Harry's Arthur and Arthur gets the final say."_

_"I don't give a fuck mate, you have any idea what I did for him, how I feel abo-"_

He smokes two cigarettes before he feels sleep pull him and he slips back into bed and he once again reaches for Eggsy, Harry tries not to let the idea of them sleeping together seep into every one of his thoughts but the touch of Eggsy's legs against his is more comforting than that. Eggsy startles awake and mumbles something about smoke and Harry presses his face to Eggsy's back.

"I'm sorry Eggsy."

* * *

The mission ends smoothly, Jean Acosta and his accomplice are tried on twelve counts of first degree murder and Harry and Eggsy make it home safe. Life resumes and the tense air between them kicks back up and it's stifling. If any knight so much as asks a question about Galahad in Arthur's general direction there's a flinch and something is thrown, Roxy thinks it's hilarious and childish of Harry until Merlin comes back with a scratch on his forehead. In the two months that pass Eggsy knits a blue scarf with his mum's help and his own determination to not rot away from boredom in his office and it's given away at the secret Santa swap at the office and when he sees it around Harry's neck he sputters and fumes at Roxy. One evening close to Christmas Harry shows up at Eggsy's door, there's a sinking feeling that he's going to be fired when he notices the stern look on his face. His mum comments on the scarf around his neck and congratulates Eggsy on a job well done and Harry looks like he's been burned, having not known Eggsy had made it.

"Michelle can I have a moment with Eggsy alone please, I'm terribly sorry to impose upon you." Harry sweet talks her like he doesn't have pre-existing beef with her. Patting the seat on the couch beside him Harry sits and Eggsy slowly makes his way to the seat across from the couch and glares at Harry. 

"What are you doin' here bruv? Come to fire me?" Eggsy crosses his arms over his chest and squares his shoulders, ready to fight Harry even in his own home. 

"I came to apologize. An apology that is long overdue and one you should have gotten much earlier. I know it's late but, Eggsy Unwin I am so sorry for leaving. I am sorry for leaving and not letting you know that I was alright and indeed coming back. And Eggsy Unwin if I may be so blunt, I adore you, and I would like very much to spend more time with you, if you would like me to." The silence drags on and Harry isn't sure what to do, he's certain that if someone struck a match the whole room would be ablaze. Eggsy's hands are shaking and Harry wants to touch him if only to comfort him. 

"Harry Andrew Hart you don't have to propose to me to apologize," Eggsy stands and makes Harry stand to wrap his arms around him, "Thank you, you're here and I also adore you or whatever the fuck, you sap." Eggsy's head is on his shoulder and he softly kisses his head, soft blonde hair tickling his nose and Harry thinks he can get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> This should have been done in time for Hartwin Week but it's not because a keyboard is daunting when it's missing a key and you're kind of drunk. Cor in Manu is Latin for "Heart in Hand" and David means "beloved" while Caleb means (or meant at one point) "heart." The first names are always pre-meditated for the meanings and purpose, "Ashleys" has no meaning however. Expect to see more (poorly translated) Latin titles from me. Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://shisuitas.tumblr.com). Or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/skipppyjonjones) if that's your deal. When writing the line, "Harry sticks to his carbs," I thought "MAN KILLED BY BREAD TRUCK," which isn't to make light of that man's death it's just that I hate bread.


End file.
